AAP-led Punjab government presents maiden budget

Chandigarh, Jun 27: The Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government on Monday presented its maiden budget on Monday, three months after the AAP stormed to power by winning the Punjab assembly elections.

While presenting the budget, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced in State Assembly that the promise of free electricity will be fulfilled from 1st July.

Opposition Congress, the BJP and the SAD have targeted the Mann government over alleged deteriorating law and order situation, especially in the wake of last month's gruesome killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

They have also slammed the state government over "unfulfilled promises".

Notably, the Punjab assembly in March had passed a vote-on-account for the first three months (April-June) of the financial year 2022-23.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in March after winning 92 of the 117 Punjab assembly segments in the state. The AAP government had sought suggestions from the general public for the state budget, which minister Cheema had said would be a "Janta budget (people's budget)".

Notably, the ruling dispensation had received suggestions from public to allocate more funds in education, health and agriculture sectors, which sources said, are among the key focus areas of the state government which will reflect in the next week's budget.

The challenge for AAP, which had in the run up to the assembly polls blamed previous regimes of pushing the state into a fiscal mess, will be to get the state economy back on track.